Cauliflower, Cheese, and Bacon Tarts

The recipe for these tarts comes from Mellissa at I Breathe I’m Hungry (original recipe here). I’ve made a few small changes to her recipe – primarily just increasing the volume of cheese and bacon toppings – but you might prefer to scale these back depending on your tastes.

If you’re not keen on cauliflower (my partner isn’t), these probably aren’t for you. But if you’re OK with cauliflower (I don’t love it, but I don’t mind it), these will amaze you. They are so incredibly tasty and are something I will want to make and eat whether or not I am following a keto diet. Thanks Mellissa!

Ingredients:

460 g (16.2 oz) of cauliflower

2 Tbsp of heavy cream

15 g (0.5 oz or 1 Tbsp) of butter

60 g (2 oz) of grated tasty cheddar cheese

1 egg

90 g (3.2 oz) of grated cheddar cheese (I used colby)

180 g (6.3 oz) of streaky bacon

Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

Preheat the oven to 190 C (375 F).

Cook the bacon, and chop or crumble into small pieces.

Clean and trim the cauliflower, breaking it into medium sized pieces. If the cauliflower has a hard outer skin, peel this off (to prevent a grainy texture).

Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl with the cream and the butter, and microwave uncovered for 5 minutes on high.

Stir to coat the cauliflower with the cream/butter mixture, and microwave for another 4 minutes on high.

Remove from the microwave and put into a high speed blender or food processor along with the tasty cheese. Puree until smooth and season with the salt and pepper to taste.

Add the egg to the mash and mix well.

Put the mixture into a greased muffin tray to make 12 bases (approximately 2 Tbsp of mash per base). Shape the mixture so that it covers the bottom of the pan and goes half-way up the side (approximately 1 cm or half an inch thickness all around).

Bake the bases for 30 minutes until they dry out and firm up. If they are still too soft then add them back for a few more minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven. Using a butter knife or a spoon, release the bases gently from the muffin tray and place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Fill the bases with the remaining cheese and the bacon, and put the tarts back in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese has melted.